Magpul and ZEV will get the Folding FDP to the Finish Line in 2025
It has been teased for decades but it looks like the Magpul and ZEV FDP, in both carbine and pistol format, will be headed to market in 2025. It’s real, and we've shot it.
If ever a gun was wish-cast into existence, it is this one.
This strange path, of producing an innocuous-looking box that could transform as if by magic into a PCC, started with Francis Warin's boxy ARES project in the 1970s – which used a German MP28 magazine, of all things – then quickly moved on to Utah Connor's "boom box" (complete with collapsing antenna) style Undercover 9 or UC-9, and James Boatman's companion DEB M-21. The latter gained everlasting fame in the 1990's "Robocop 2."
Then, in 2008, Magpul reimagined the UC-9/M-21 in a concept gun that dropped the dated portable boom box disguise and updated the look to that of an extra laptop battery (which was a thing at the time). Dubbed the FMG-9, it remained vaporware until Magpul succumbed to public demand in 2021 and announced what was then termed the Folding Defensive Pistol-9 and a Folding Defensive Carbine-9, using a ZEV OZ9 operating system inside a Magpul chassis.
While Magpul brought prototypes to the last three SHOT Shows since then, the FDP and FDC have yet to appear, which is something of a bummer.
But 2025 is set to be a year of sweet, sweet fulfillment as the now FDP-C carbine and FDP-P pistol are headed to market.
A trip to Wyoming
In October, Guns.com traveled to an event at the Highbar Homeland Ranch outside of Gillette, Wyoming to hang out with the gang from SilencerCo, Magpul, and ZEV to lay hands on the first few FDPs.
The ranch itself was amazing. Like, it will make you move to Wyoming amazing. (All photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
There, we got a chance to run something like 16,000 rounds through a set of prototype guns over a few days and got seriously acquainted with the FDP.
The housing, made of impact-resistant polymer, shows Magpul's hand in the project, as do the two PMAG 17 (Glock pattern) magazines it ships with. (All photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
We used over 90 PMAG 17s that week and put so many rounds through them that we broke a pretty nice benchtop mag loader.
The bonus of using Glock-pattern double stack 9mm magazines, is you can run any number of easily to find extendos.
The FDP will be sold in two variants, an NFA-rules-apply FDP-C Carbine, seen in the front, and a more over-the-counter FDP-P pistol in the back. Both have a 7.052-inch 416 stainless steel barrel and weigh 3.25 pounds. As you can see, the folded (10.75 and 11.5 inches) and unfolded (20.125 and 20.875 inches) lengths of the two are virtually the same.
Due to the rear sling attachment on the pistol, it is the longer of the pair.
The carbine (left) and pistol (right) folded.
When you get into the internals, that's where you start to see where ZEV has made the magic happen. The internal chassis is based on the ZEV OZ9 V2 system with Gen 5 internals but greatly modified.
Constructed of 4140 steel and using a hybrid 17-4 SS slide, all steel components are coated in black nitride. The 7-inch barrel is longer than the slide.
The ZEV FDP chassis, top, with the elongated manual safety, compared to a ZEV OZ9 pistol chassis at the bottom.
The two brothers from another mother so to speak.
Surface controls include folding ambi charging handles-- one on each side-- forward of the action. Pushing down on the charging handle while stowed will deploy the firearm, something that can be done in about a second with a little practice.
The magazine release is traditional. Note the slide lock and manual safety, to the rear.
The right-hand side gives a peek at the slide via the ejection port. Note the charging handle and molded hand/barricade stop. Salt and pepper are not included.
When folding, the grip and trigger guard collapse into the housing. The grip "breaks" via a rear button.
And there you have it.
Compared to a mobile device. Yes, I'm the guy who turns the group chat green. Your mom says hello.
You can walk around with a handful of these things and seem very unobtrusive.
It's only when you start adding optics and lights that it starts to look more ballistic.
But you must admit, when running it with an X300 and an ACRO, it just looks like a weird flashlight. This aluminum carry handle is a prototype.
It's not impossible to carry the FDP concealed, just improbable.
But, at around 11x5 inches when folded, it can be packed in a lot more places without carrying a bag that screams "I have a PCC, and six magazines stuffed inside here along with enough medical to set up a rural health clinic." It's discreet in a whole new way.
ZEV tells us they are working on an optional flat rail instead of the carry handle-- which is removable. Will it make it to the production gun? You know what we know.
But is it functional?
As I said, we fired a ton of rounds through the early batch of FDPs in October. Shoot, reload, shoot, get more mags, repeat. We shot in the rain; we shot at night with nods (super fun). We shot steel anywhere from 15 yards to 200. We ran clearing drills in the ranch's boneyard. We just really wrung the gun out.
It had some hiccups. There were a couple of guns that went down. But-- and this is the redemption here-- Magpul and ZEV had folks there cataloging every problem on every gun and documenting it so that it gets fixed before the FDP enters full-rate production.
Imagine that, a company that doesn't use the consumer as a beta tester. Nice.
The FDP in either format is still a very compact firearm, running around 20 inches unfolded. This means it’s great for those tight spots.
Plus, it is ambi, so shooting left or right side without changing parts is a snap.
And it is not a gimmick gun, being very capable, here seen zapping reduced IPSC plates at 200 yards. Sure, you have to isolate, concentrate, and work on your holdover, but there were more "pings" than not.
An FDP paired with an active NGAL and SiCo Spectre K at night is just too much fun, making hip shots with ease with only the red sparks off the steel plates illuminating the darkness. These images were taken before the lights shut down.
Talk about a trail and camp gun that doesn't take up a lot of space. Keep in mind this thing only weighs a bit over three pounds.
So, in the end, how much does it cost and when is it coming out?
We got this late Thursday from Ben McClelland, ZEV's Marketing Manager:
"Right now, we're hoping for the end of Q1 for availability and are shooting for an MSRP around $1,699. That is still subject to change but we're pretty confident. The carbine which is releasing first will be the FDP-C and the pistol variant will be FDP-P."
